Chapter 13 Thirteen Farmers
When they reached the village, the widow stopped to wait for them.She insisted on going in with her whole company; but Germain, refusing to give her this satisfaction, left Father Leonard, approached some acquaintances, and entered the church by another door.The widow was very annoyed.
After Mass, she strutted about on the dancing lawn, dancing with her three lovers in turn.Germain watched her dance, and thought she danced well, but she was just putting on airs.
Hey, Papa Leonard patted him on the shoulder and said, why don't you dance with my daughter?You are too timid.
I haven't danced since my woman died.the farmer answered.
Hi!Since you are looking for another one, you should take off your mourning clothes along with your mourning.
That's no reason, Papa Leonard; besides, I think I'm too old to dance.
Listen, Leonardo said, taking him to a quiet place, you came into my house, and you were angry when you saw all the guests, and I saw that you were proud; but it is not sensible, my child.My daughter is used to being courted by others, especially since she has been in mourning for the past two years, she should not be curry favor with you.
It's been two years since your daughter got married, hasn't she found someone yet?asked Germain.
She doesn't want to rush, and she's right.Despite her sharp looks, you might think she's unsteady, but she's a very knowledgeable woman who knows what she's doing.
I don't think so, said Germain bluntly, with three lovers behind her, and if she knew who she wanted, at least two of them she thought were superfluous and would have asked them to stay in their house.
Why do you want to do this?You don't understand anything, Germain.She doesn't want the old one, nor the one-eyed one, nor the young man, and I'm pretty sure; and if she sends them away, it'll be thought she's still trying to be a widow, and no one else will come.
ah!yes!These people are used as signs!
You are right.What's the harm in that if it suits them as well?
Everyone has their own preferences!Germain said.
I see that this is not what you like.But, can we talk about it, if you are chosen, someone else will make way for you.
Yes, hypothetically!But how long do you have to hang around before you know you've been chosen?
It's up to you, I think, to see if you can talk and win her heart.Right now, my daughter understands very well that the best time in her life is when she is being pursued, and when she can still dominate a few men, she is not in a hurry to be someone's servant.So, as long as the game pleases her, she'll enjoy it; but if you please her more than the game, the game will be over.As long as you don't get discouraged.Come and dance with her every Sunday, and if she thinks you more lovely and better than others, she will give you good news sooner or later.
Sorry, Papa Leonard, your daughter has the right to do as she pleases, and I have no right to criticize her.If I were in her place, I wouldn't do it; I'd be blunt and not waste the time of the men, who don't have to hang around a woman playing tricks on them, who must have better things to do.In short, if she finds pleasure and happiness here, that is none of my business.If I have to tell you one thing, it has been difficult for me since this morning, because you misunderstood me from the very beginning, and you didn't give me a chance to explain it, so that you believed something that wasn't there at all. .You know, I'm not here to propose to your daughter, but to buy that pair of cows that you are going to bring to the market next week, and my father-in-law thinks he will like it.
I understand, Germain, replied Leonard calmly, that you have changed your mind when you saw my daughter with her wooer.You please.It seems that what attracts some people disappoints others. Since you haven't spoken yet, you have the right to withdraw.If you really want to buy my cattle, please come to the pasture and see; we'll talk about it later, and whether this business is done or not, you must have lunch with us before you go back.
I don't want to bother you any more, said Germain, maybe you have something to do here; as for me, I watch the dance and have nothing to do, and I feel bored.I'll go and see your cattle, and I'll come to your house to find you in a while.
After speaking, Germain got away, and he walked towards the pasture, where Leonardo had pointed out to him some of the cattle in the distance.Papa Maurice really wanted to buy cattle, Germain thought, and he would be forgiven for deliberately missing the purpose of his trip if he brought home a pair of handsome cattle at a reasonable price.
He walked quickly, and he was not far from Olmo in a while.He felt that he wanted to hug and kiss his son, and even to see little Marie again, though he was disappointed, and drove away the idea of happiness from her.What he saw and heard, this coquettish and vain woman, this cunning and narrow-minded father who encouraged his daughter to develop the vice of conceit and falsehood, this urban luxury that seemed to him to be contrary to the solemnity of country customs The time wasted in gossip, the uneasiness felt by this family so different from his own, and above all by the peasants who had left their working habits, all the troubles and embarrassments he had suffered during these few hours made Germain long to be with him. The child reunited with his little neighbor.Even if she wasn't in love with him, he still wanted to find her to relax and restore his spirits.
But he looked in vain at the neighboring pastures, and he could find neither little Marie nor little Pierre: but this was already the time when the shepherds came into the fields.There was a large herd on a fallow field; he asked a grazing boy if these were the sheep of the Olmo farm.
Yes.said the child.
Are you a shepherd boy?Are boys herding sheep here?
no.I'm herding sheep today because the shepherdess is gone: she's sick.
Aren't you a new shepherdess this morning?
oh!True!She's gone too.
why did you leave?Didn't she have a child with her?
Yes, a crying child.They were both gone two hours later.
where to go
It looks like it is walking in the direction it came from.I didn't ask them.
Why are they leaving?asked Germain, growing uneasy.
Hi!how could I know?
Didn't you talk about the wages?But this should be discussed in advance.
I can't tell you anything.I saw them come and go, that's all.
Germain walked towards the farm and questioned the tenant farmers.No one can say for sure, but one thing is certain: After talking with the farmer, the girl left without saying a word, taking the crying child with her.
Could someone abuse my son?Germain cried out, his eyes burning.
Is that your son?How could he be with this girl?Where are you from?What is your name?
Seeing that, according to the local custom, the tenants answered his questions with other questions, Germain stamped impatiently and demanded to see the farmer.
The farmer was absent: he was not in the habit of staying on the farm all day, and he rode off to one of his farms.
In short, said Germain anxiously, don't you know the reason why the girl went away?
The sharecropper and his woman exchanged an odd smile, then replied that he knew nothing, that it was none of his business.All Germain heard was that the girl and the child were going towards Fourche.He ran to Fourche: the widow and the courtier had not returned, neither had Papa Leonor.The maid told him that a girl and a child had come to see him, but she would not receive them as she did not know them, and advised them to go to Myers.
Why do you refuse to receive them?Germain said angrily, the people in this place are really suspicious, don't even the neighbors refuse to open the door?
certainly!The maid replied that in such a rich family, one should be more careful.When the master is away, I am responsible for everything, and I can't open the door to just anyone.
It's an ugly atmosphere, said Germain, and I'd rather be poor than live in such fear.Goodbye, girl!Goodbye, you bloody place!
He asked nearby people, and some people saw the shepherdess and the child.For the lad ran from Burrell by himself, undressed, in a somewhat torn smock, with the little lamb's skin; gave them some bread.The girl asked for a slice for the hungry boy, and she took him away quickly, to the woods.
Germain paused for a moment, then asked the farmer from Olmo if he had ever been to Fourche.
Yes, the man replied, and he rode past here not long after the girl left.
Is he chasing her?
ah!So you know him?The local hotel owner he was talking to laughed and said, of course; the slut would kill for a girl.But I don't believe he's going after this one; even if he sees her
Enough, thank you!
Rather than running, he might as well fly to Leona's barn.He threw the saddle on Xiaoqing's back, jumped on the horse, and galloped towards the Chantelube woods.
His heart was pounding with anxiety and anger, and sweat was streaming down his brow.He stabbed Xiaoqing's abdomen to bleed out, and it saw that it was going home, so it ran very fast without urging it.